Reflections of the Heart
by ReachingforaDream
Summary: Three years after the manga series, Ichitaka is unsure of his place in the world. Iori does her best to console him, but events are being set in motion that will test their love, and everyone's friendship. Old and new foes appear, as the story unfolds.
1. Chapter 1 Three Years

**Author's Note**

Hi there I"s fans, and all followers of Reaching for a Dream - you know, all like…five of you. :P This is indeed the same Gyt Kaliba or 'ReachingforaDream' that you know from the same-titled fansite, here to talk a little bit about the story you're about to read, and hopefully enjoy.

This is an idea I've had for a while now, and have been toying with it more and more ever since we kind of took a hiatus for doing audio dramas. There WILL be more audio dramas in the future, but for now, recording time for myself personally is pretty scarce. I still want to bring some new original content to the site though, not just doing new reviews sporadically. So, if I couldn't do it with voice-over, I decided to try doing it with another of my passions and, quote un-quote, talents - writing.

The original concept for this story came from my own boredom. I was calculating up how many episodes I thought a proper anime adaptation of the I"s manga should have (for those curious, I clocked it in at about 65 episodes, a little over a full year's run for a TV anime in Japan). While doing so, I imagined Studio BONES (Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club, etc.) doing the animation, which for some reason led to another thought - if the proposed show did well, what if they wanted to do a theatrical version? What kind of story would that entail? So, the idea for 'Reflections of the Heart' was born. The title itself has no obvious meaning mind you, it just sounded right to me. It sounded like another chapter title for the manga, as well as harkening a little to the final chapter's title and the name of our site.

For something like I"s, a random 'in-the-middle-of-the-series' type film wouldn't have worked, so I envisioned something that would take place post-series, showing us events that happened after the manga came to a close. In doing so, I was able to imagine the established characters in new and yet familiar scenarios, as well as bringing in a few new characters - some canon but unseen in the manga, and some that are entirely of my own creation. I've tried to channel Katsura as much as I could for every character, but where discrepancies appear, they are of my own error.

Before and during the writing of this, I have talked about various aspects of the proposed story with some friends, who I want to give due credit to, as well as to dedicate this ongoing story to them. First, I'd like to thank HeavyMetalGonyea, a great friend as well as the voice of Ichitaka in the audio dramas - he was a big help by reading through the whopping twelve pages of scenario for this, and giving me some insight on where the story was a bit weak. Second, to Lucca, another friend and the voice of Itsuki in the dramas - she too gave the story a look over for me, as well as just being an incredible influence on my creativity. Third, to Edwin, one of the biggest supporters of my site and I"s in general - he's always great to bounce ideas off of, and though we don't get to talk often, his enthusiasm drives me to work harder on all of my I"s-related ventures. Last but not least, Alc Fluteo, my girlfriend and the voice of Miyoko in the dramas - she possibly deserves the most thanks, not only for being supportive and reading/listening to the entire plot synopsis and helping with it, but for putting up with my obsession with I"s in the first place.

This will quite possibly be the first long-running fan fiction for our little series that has ever been written, as far as I know, so it has the ability to simultaneously be the best and worst one penned as well. Regardless of how you walk away from this story feeling, I hope that it will at least have kept you reading all the way through to the end.

So, enough blathering on from me, let's raise the curtain on 'I"s: The Movie: Reflections of the Heart'. Please enjoy it.

- Gyt Kaliba, I"s: Reaching for a Dream

**Chapter 1. Three Years**

A towering pillar of boxes rose high towards the ceiling before Toshiro, looking as if the slightest movement would cause them to fall on him at any given second. "He really expects me to move all of these to the basement? He's insane!" Running his hand through his brown, wavy hair, a sigh escaped from Toshi's lips as he looked the pillar up and down once more. Definitely insane.

The door behind him slid open, causing him to turn around, and as his eyes took in the black-haired beauty that was his co-worker Kaya, his heart fluttered. "I can hear you griping all the way in front you know." She giggled, causing his heart to move on from fluttering to practically jumping out of his chest.

"Oh, sorry about that." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head now and playing his nervousness off as a sense of coolness. "Hope none of the customers heard me. The assistant manager would never let me hear the end of it."

"No worries, he's out running errands right now. It's kind of a slow day anyway." As she spoke, Kaya picked up a box from a second, smaller pillar, before turning to face the doorway. "C'mon, I'll help you get these moved."

"Really? AWESOME!" Toshiro smiled from ear to ear, quickly grabbing another box from the pile before starting to follow her out of the room. "Have I told you I love you Kaya?" He said jokingly, though behind the joke the words rang true.

"S-Shut up Toshi." Her face warmed a bit as she kept her face turned away from him so he couldn't see her blush. Toshi could be a clown sometimes, but there was something about him that attracted her to him - not that she'd ever tell him anyway, nor did she have time to focus on a relationship in the first place. College entrance exams weren't that far off. Pushing her confused feelings aside, she turned to face him at last. "Let's just get this over wi - Toshi, look out!" She gasped, dropping the box she was holding.

"Huh?" Still holding his own load, Toshi turned to look behind him, just in time to see the large pillar of boxes collapse under it's own weight, perhaps having been jostled when he'd grabbed from the other pile. The possibility of the items in the boxes breaking were the least of his worries, as all of them started down their natural path forward - onto him. "Ahh!"

As a loud crash rang through the air, and Kaya had to back out of the room as boxes flooded out, dragging Toshi's body along with them, lest she be avalanched herself, the front door to the store flew open. "What the heck is going on!"

Kaya turned, horror-stricken, towards the voice. Her face filled with relief momentarily, before she frantically started to spaz out. "M-Manager! I'm so sorry sir! It was an accident! I-I was helping Toshi move those boxes to the basement like you asked him to, when suddenly they just collapsed!" She gasped again, bending down to try to pull Toshi free of his cardboard rubble of a prison. "Oh Toshi, are you all right?"

"Yeah. Super. Never been better." Toshi remarked in a wobbly manner, feeling as if his entire head was spinning. If he hadn't been so distracted by his possible concussion, he might have gotten a bigger thrill out of Kaya touching his skin, even if it was just to pull on his arm.

The manager sighed, his head hanging a little bit as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I leave the store unattended for five minutes, and you two manage to destroy the stock room." Shaking his head, he looked at Kaya with a smile to show he wasn't really that angry. "All right, let's dig Toshiro out from under there, then I'll help you both get these boxes moved."

"Th-Thank you manager." Kaya breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see he wasn't angry at all. She couldn't ask for a better boss.

"No problem. And please, you don't have to call me manager." He said as he removed a few boxes from the back of a still dazed Toshiro. "You can use my first name, I'm not that much older than you."

Kaya looked at her boss fondly, almost wondering if she had a small crush on him too. "Sorry. Thank you…Ichitaka."

* * *

><p>"All right, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Get some rest Kaya, and Toshiro - if I find anything broken later, it's coming out of your check!" Ichitaka Seto said, waving goodbye to his workers as they rode away on their bikes. He could swear he saw Toshiro stick his tongue out at him as he rode away. "Little punk." He smiled, before walking back into the store and behind the counter.<p>

He had worked at this small convenience store for over four years now, ever since his graduation from high school. Despite almost getting fired over a lot of missed days a few years back, when he had been busy keeping an eye on Iori from afar during the looming threat of the Marionette King, Ichitaka had proven himself to be a hard worker, enough so that he'd been named assistant manager by the owner. The owner was elderly and often stayed home and let Ichitaka run things, so to his two workers, he was more or less the actual manager.

As he signed off on some order forms, carefully stacking them in a pile, Ichitaka's thoughts drifted some. Being the manager of a small store at his age wasn't exactly bad, but having workers still in high school made him feel old even at his young age. And while he was on friendly terms with them both, Toshiro and Kaya both rubbed him the wrong way, though through no fault of their own.

In Toshiro, Ichitaka saw himself. They weren't that similar on the surface, as Toshiro was much more of a jokester and seemingly sure of himself than Ichitaka could ever be, but ever since he'd caught Toshiro watching Kaya instead of doing his work… It reminded him of the old days. Back when he'd mooned over Iori constantly. There were lots of good times, but they were also his darkest times, and they drew him naturally to the unsettling reminder of Kaya's attitude.

Kaya was an intenstly focused student, working hard to get into college after her high school graduation in naught but a few months. Seeing such dedication was inspiring, but also disheartening for Ichitaka. He tried not to think about it as he worked on shutting down the store for the night, but the thoughts kept invading his head. _I've already failed my entrance exams three times…_ He thought to himself, bitterly cursing himself now for how narrow-minded he had been during his high school years. So focused had he been on his love life, or lack there-of, that he hadn't put much effort into his school work. As a result, he failed his first entrance exam, and had continued to fail it ever since, despite putting a lot of effort into studying. "Maybe I just don't have what it takes." He said aloud, though there was nobody around to hear him.

Stepping out from behind the counter, he grabbed his jacket off of the coat hanger, pulling it on as he flipped off the light and exited the store. It was fall now, and the air had started to chill just enough to seep into your bones, making it seem a lot colder than it actually was. Turning to look through the window at his counter one last time, he closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he forcibly suppressed his misgivings, and turned to walk towards his apartment.

"Ichitaka!"

A voice rode on the wind into his ear, causing him to stop abruptly and turn around. The voice sounded as lovely as it had every time he had heard it, dating back to far, far earlier in his youth, and the sight of her filled his heart with greater joy than anything else ever had. "Iori, what're you doing here?"

Smiling, Iori stepped forward, a grocery bag hanging off of her arm, her auburn hair blowing in the breeze. "I had to run and get some groceries for my mother. I knew you'd be getting off around now, so I thought I'd stop by to see if you wanted me to walk with you to your apartment."

Ichitaka smiled as he stepped towards her, taking the bag for her, as he bent down to kiss her gently on the forehead. "I'd like that."

* * *

><p>"You know, it's more traditional for the boyfriend to walk his girlfriend to <em>her<em> house, not the other way around." Ichitaka teased, walking with Iori's bag in one hand, his other arm draped around her shoulder and holding her close for shared warmth.

Iori giggled, her body snuggled against his with her cheek against his arm, just below his shoulder. Looking up at him sweetly she didn't dignify his tease with a response. "So, how was work today?"

"It was all right." He smiled, taking her hand into his own before slipping them into his jacket pocket, something he did often. "There were some invoices I had to get sent out, so I left the store with Toshiro and Kaya for a while. We weren't really getting much business anyway, but then - " As they walked, Ichitaka recounted the day's chaos to Iori.

"Oh wow, that could have been bad." Iori said with a touch of concern in her voice. "I'm glad he wasn't hurt."

"It'll take more than that to hurt him, he's got a thick skull." Ichitaka laughed, hoping that somewhere that very second, Toshiro was sneezing due to being talked about.

"They both seem like nice kids though."

"They are." Ichitaka said fondly, looking to the stars in the sky overhead. He opened his mouth to say something, but once more tried to push his worries to the back of his mind. It wouldn't do any good to worry Iori as well. Looking back down at her, he instead smirked and latched onto her last statement. "'Kids' huh? Well don't you sound like an old lady."

Iori pouted before removing her hand from his to jab him in the side.

"Oww!" Ichitaka laughed, a smile of mollification coming to Iori's face before she returned her hand to his jacket pocket. "Geez…" He said, rubbing his side with his opposite hand.

Despite thinking that he was cute when he acted like that, Iori knew Ichitaka well enough now to know when there was something on his mind. He always tried to change the subject or crack a joke when something was bothering him, and he wasn't very good at either one. She had a feeling of what was bothering him too. "So…are you ready for the reunion?"

Ichitaka's body stiffened up a bit at her words. There was no avoiding the subject now that she had brought it up herself. "I…I guess." He said in a non-committal tone. "It'll be great to see everyone again."

"But?" Iori trailed off, prompting him to continue where she knew there was more to be said.

He sighed before replying. "I'm just…I'm not really sure of where I am in life right now. I haven't _done_ anything since graduating." He kicked at the ground a bit before Iori stopped walking, causing him to stand as well.

"What do you mean Ichitaka?" She looked him in the eyes, or at least tried to - he was avoiding eye contact. "You're a manag - "

"Assistant manager."

"Fine, _assistant_ manager." She smiled, walking in front of him so he would have to look at her. "Assistant manager who does the work of a full manager, at your job. You keep applying to college - "

"And failing."

Iori was glaring at him now, but in a cute way. "And I'm sure you'll get in just as soon as…" She stopped, not really sure of how to finish her sentence.

"Exactly." He said, smiling ruefully and staring at the ground between them now. "I just don't want to be the guy who doesn't achieve anything but still shows up for the reunion for free food. I want to be good enough to…to hold my head up high when I see the others." He mentally said the sentence as he had really meant to say it - _To be good enough for you._

"You worry too much." Iori smiled kindly, taking his hand back out of his jacket pocket and holding it, squeezing it reassuringly. "Nobody's going to think any less of you for not being in college yet. I promise."

"I guess." He said, starting to walk forward again with her. He didn't feel completely better, but having Iori try to cheer him up was always enough to lighten his mood some.

* * *

><p>"I'll see you tomorrow, okay Ichitaka?" Iori said, standing in front of Ichitaka's apartment, as he stood against his door facing her. "And try to cheer up, all right?"<p>

"I will. And thanks Iori." He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his body.

"My pleasure." She said softly, looking up into his eyes. "Someone has to walk you home, it's dangerous out there."

He rolled his eyes, finding her attempt at wit to be unfunny - but insanely cute. Briefly, the thought of how different she seemed in some ways now, compared to her previous meek self, flashed through his mind. But it was still Iori, and he still loved her, with every fiber of his being. Smiling, he leaned his face closer to hers as his eyes closed. At the same time, she raised slightly onto her toes, meeting his face with her own, and their lips pressed together in a loving kiss. Embracing each other tenderly, they kissed for what was likely a short time, but felt like a wondrous forever to them both. When they finally pulled apart, their faces remained close as simultaneously, they opened their eyes, and smiled.

"Bye Ichitaka." Iori said, backing away and heading down the stairs to begin walking back to her own home. Then, she stopped, looking back up at him. "Oh! I almost forgot, don't forget that the day after tomorrow, you and your parents are supposed to come to my parents' house for dinner."

Though Iori smiled sweetly at this reminder, Ichitaka had to do his best to make the smile on his own face seem honest, rather than the grimace that it was. "Right, I remember. I'll pick my parents up and meet you there."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you." She said sweetly, walking down the stairs and waving goodbye to him.

"I love you too." Ichitaka said, his heart swelling with feeling as he waved farewell to his girlfriend. Once she was out of sight, he stepped into his apartment, shutting the door behind him. After flicking the light on, he leaned against the door, slowly sinking a little. If worries about the reunion didn't kill him first, it was very likely that the thought of meeting with Iori's parents - or more specifically her father - again, would.

Intentionally smacking the back of his head against his door lightly, he blew the storm clouds in his head away, smiling as he walked into his kitchen area to get some dinner going. "Iori's right, I do worry too much. Everything will be all right. It always is…as long as I have Iori by my side…"


	2. Chapter 2 The Reunion

**Chapter 2. The Reunion**

"All right, you're both signed in." The teacher took the entry sheet back from Ichitaka who had just finished signing his name, while Iori stood behind him. Looking up at them both with a smile, the older woman pointed down the hallway. "I'm sure you remember where the field was right? Everyone will be gathering there."

"Thanks." Ichitaka bowed slightly, as did Iori, and they both started to walk down the school hallways. It was a Sunday, so the school was empty save for teachers and the reunion class slowly streaming in. As he looked around, Ichitaka felt like it had been forever since he'd been in the building, even though it had only been about five years.

"It takes you back, doesn't it." Iori was looking around at the empty classrooms as well, walking right beside Ichitaka, wearing a simple white blouse, a light brown skirt, and a necklace Ichitaka had gotten her for an anniversary.

"It does." Ichitaka replied, stretching the tie away from his neck some, and moving his arms around some, finding his brown suit to be much too tight. "I really hate suits…"

"But you wore one every day we were in school." She giggled, referring to the old purple uniforms the boys had to wear.

"Yeah, but that was forever ago." Ichitaka whined, still stretching out the sleeves on his suit.

As they walked onward, Ichitaka spotted the classroom that had once been home to he and Iori's class. The door was slightly ajar, allowing him to see inside and take in how empty it was at the moment. In his mind's eye though, he could see the ghosts of his past there. It was in that classroom, years before, that he'd been placed on the New Student Welcoming Committee by Higemi. Though he'd already had a crush on Iori for a while before that, it was then Ichitaka felt, with the formation of 'Team I's' that their connection truly began.

Ichitaka stiffened some as he felt Iori's arm wrap around his waist, and he looked down at her. She had noticed that he'd stopped and was looking at the classroom with him. "We've got a lot of good memories, don't we."

He thought fondly back on it all before replying. "Yeah, we do." He hugged Iori lightly before they separated, both turning towards the end of the hallway again. "Let's go see everyone again."

* * *

><p>"Well, if it isn't Mr. Seto." As soon as Ichitaka had opened the door and stepped onto the field, he and Iori had been swept down upon by Hiromi Hanazono, aka "Higemi", himself, their old teacher. Despite how long it had been since they'd seen him, he didn't seem to have changed much, being only slightly greyer in the hair department - but still coupled with way too much energy for a grown man. "It's good to see you." He had his arm around both their necks, tightly gripping them to him.<p>

"Y-Yeah, it's good to see you too." Ichitaka said in a strained voice, trying to pull himself away from his old teacher's grip while lots of other classmates looked on laughing. When he finally succeeded in getting free - Higemi had let Iori go without struggle - Ichitaka rubbed his possibly fractured neck and smiled up at the old man. "Are you still teaching here?"

"Of course! There's no way I'm retiring anytime soon. Still got too much vigor left in me." Higemi had now struck a Superman-like pose and was full-on belly laughing. It was all Ichitaka could do not to face palm, though Iori giggled at it all. "Anyway, I'm glad I caught you both before heading out."

"You're leaving already?" Iori asked, looking a bit more concerned than Ichitaka did.

"Not for long, I'll be right back. I've gotta go drag the keg out of my car and get it here."

Ichitaka did a double take. "K-Keg? They're actually letting us have drinks here?"

"Well of course. I mean, you are all adults now, aren't you? 'Bout time you had a taste of the good stuff, assuming you haven't yet." Higemi's grin still hadn't left his face, and Ichitaka decided not to puncture it by mentioning any of his underage drinking experiences.

"Yeah, but…on school property?" Iori was looking at him with wide eyes now too.

Higemi scratched his chin some, apparently thinking about how to respond. "Well…let's just say…I pulled some strings. That works, let's leave it at that. Though, let's also keep it our little secret, okay?" He winked at them both, leaving them dumb-founded, before he turned back to the crowd of former students already eating finger foods and conversing. "Hey, you two! Come help me get some more uh, 'decorations', out of my car."

"Aw man!" Replied one of the two men.

"All right, we're coming." Said the other, as they both stepped forward to follow Higemi out. As they got closer, Ichitaka and Iori both recognized them.

"Hey there Kida, Tanaka. Long time no see." Ichitaka smiled, holding out his hand to Tanaka, who's eyes widened when he recognized him.

"Seto! Oh wow, you haven't changed at all." Tanaka smiled, taking Ichitaka's hand and shaking it. Tanaka however had changed quite a bit - his hair resembled neither the pompadour-esque look he'd had during their school years, nor the more bed-head look he'd had after graduation. Instead, his hair was long, tied back into a wispy ponytail that trailed down his suit's back.

"You certainly have though." Ichitaka replied as the two men took their hands away from each other. "What's with that ponytail?"

Tanaka smirked, pulling it in front of him to pat it. "What about it? Oh, I get it - you're totally jealous. I always have had good hair though."

"R-Right." Ichitaka laughed, turning to Kida who seemed to be trying to inch away to follow after Higemi. "You look about the same though Kida."

Stopping to turn back towards Ichitaka, Iori,and Tanaka, Kida, smiled uneasily. The only major difference to his appearance now was that he now sported a small mustache just above his lip. "Uh, hey. Yeah, I haven't really put much work into my appearance. It worked for high school so…yeah."

Iori couldn't help but notice the way Kida seemed to avoid eye contact with her. Ichitaka noticed it too. "So, are you two in college, or are you working now?"

"College." Kida replied shortly, turning to face Iori. Briefly, he looked her in the eyes, but his face seemed to stiffen and he looked away again. "Yeah, just uh…studying. The basic stuff."

Tanaka flicked his eyes toward Kida so that Ichitaka would notice, and smirked knowingly. "I did the college thing for a while too, but it wasn't really for me, you know? So I took a job at a used car dealership, and now I'm one of their top salesmen."

"Oh wow, that's awesome!" Ichitaka said, wondering in the back of his mind how much more money Tanaka was pulling down than him. "Glad to hear you're both doing so well."

"Hey, you two better hurry up or you won't get any of the bo - er, decorations. C'mon!" Higemi called from inside, tapping his foot in an impatient manner.

Kida wasted no time making his exit, not even bothering to say goodbye. Ichitaka and Iori both watched him, a little taken back, but Tanaka just laughed. "He still hasn't gotten over some of the stuff he did when he found out you guys were dating. He feels bad about it but I don't know if he'll ever get over it enough to apologize and just be normal around you guys."

"I see…" Iori sad, looking a bit sad and closing her hand against her chest. "Poor Kida…"

"Yeah, but what can you do." Tanaka said, turning away from them to follow Kida. "I'd better get going, let's talk again in a bit!" He started to run down the hallway, but he slowed a bit and Ichitaka and Iori both heard him say "Wait…we 'won't get any of the decorations'?"

Ichitaka and Iori turned to look at each other, wondering the same thing. "You don't think he's really bringing alcohol here do you?" asked Iori.

"With that man, I have no idea." Ichitaka laughed.

"There you are! Hey, over here!"

Hearing a familiar voice that he could never forget, Ichitaka turned to see Teratani standing with a group of their other closest friends from school - Jun, Yuka, and Nami. "Hey!" He and Iori both rushed over to them. Teratani he saw quite often still, though recently the number of visits had dropped a little. Though she hadn't said anything to Ichitaka, Iori had noticed the same thing with her correspondence with Yuka.

"Geez, took you guys long enough to get here." Teratani smiled, patting Ichitaka on the back. Teratani hadn't changed much either, still sporting his overly large glasses, and a nose that seemed to run in his family. The only major difference to his appearance now was a small 'soul patch' on his chin. "We were starting to think you weren't going to show up."

"Yeah, what were you guys doing, finding a nice empty classroom to 'relive your youth'?" Teased Nami, who's hair still went past her shoulders, but she seemed to have styled it recently, a certain bounce and flip present to the front of it.

Everyone laughed when Ichitaka and Iori blushed in reply. "Very funny." Ichitaka said, looking at them all. "It's nice to see you all again."

"It is. I've missed you Ichitaka." Jun said in a calm voice, his grey-colored hair almost exactly as it had been in high school, though it was cut a little shorter now. Ichitaka tried not to dwell too much on it, but as always, there was a bit too much emotion in Jun's words - just enough to make Ichitaka involuntarily shiver.

"T-Thanks Jun. So what have you been up to? I haven't seen you since about a year ago."

"Not much. I've just been doing some traveling recently." Jun looked up into the sky, as if seeing something that the rest of them couldn't - or searching for it rather. "Just trying to find my place in the world…and love."

"Well, you're here again, you could always finally confess to Higemi." Teratani suggested with a teasing smirk. When Jun blushed in reply, he cackled some before getting smacked on the back of the head by Yuka. "Ow!"

"Don't be rude!" Yuka frowned, looking about the same as she had when Ichitaka had last seen her too, now sporting some bangs in front of her face, but her hairstyle mostly staying the same.

"It's all right." Jun laughed, his cheeks returning to their natural color. "I've thought about telling him just to get it into the open but…it's probably best not to." There was a bit of sadness in Jun's eyes, but somehow he didn't seem bothered by it in the end. It seemed to make him stronger.

"I like your hair Nami." Iori said, prompting Nami to flip her hand through it some.

"Thanks! I get it styled for free since I work at a salon now. Whatever style I want - so of course, I choose some of their more expensive ones, if it looks good on me anyway." She smiled mischievously. "You should come in sometime, I'll get you a good deal."

"O-Oh, that's all right. It took me a long time to get my hair back the way I wanted it." Iori said, touching it as if Nami's suggestion would make it all go away.

"Oh c'mon! I bet Ichitaka would like a new look for you, wouldn't you Ichitaka."

"Um…well, I think she looks good now." He replied honestly.

"So you don't want her to look any prettier? Afraid someone will steal her away?" Nami's smile remained the same.

"Wha- That's not what I said at all!"

"It's the same difference."

"Fine, then I think she'd look good with a haircut."

"Aha! So you don't think she looks good now, do you!"

"Would you stop that!" Ichitaka stomped his foot flustered, while Iori looked on with a blush and everyone else laughed at him. "Geez, even after all this time…do you have to do that?"

"Sure do." Nami said, taking a sip from a juice cup that she'd been drinking from, presumably waiting for the 'real thing' later. "It's fun."

Snickering some, Teratani patted Ichitaka on the shoulder. "Besides, I think we all deserve to laugh at your expense. You really have no idea how much hell we all went through trying to get you guys together, do you."

Ichitaka and Iori looked at each other while Teratani went on.

"You two drove us crazy! Our own little personal soap opera, bleh. It was nauseating." Teratani sighed, stroking his bearded chin with his hand. "I mean, it was worth it in the end, I was glad to lend you my expert assistance - but if you'd just manned up, been more like me - "

"Ha!" Ichitaka laughed dryly, smirking evilly before fake punching Teratani in the gut. "No offense, but at least _I_ have a girlfriend now. Last I heard, you couldn't say the same, now could you."

Without warning, Nami started cackling, Yuka looked to the side, and Jun just smirked, leaving Ichitaka and Iori to look around dumbly. "Huh?"

"You know what they say about assuming, Ichitaka." Teratani smiled, walking back towards Yuka, turning to face Ichitaka and Iori, and smiling before wrapping a hand around Yuka's waist, pulling her closer. "Makes an ass out of you and me."

"What do you…" Ichitaka said, looking carefully at the scene before him, as did Iori. Seeing where Teratani's hand was, the way he smiled, and Yuka's blush, it clicked in both their minds simultaneously. "W-Wha! You mean…you and Yuka are…"

"Yup. We've been dating for a few months now." Teratani cackled, holding Yuka close while she still blushed.

"Is this true Yuka?" Iori asked in amazement. "You didn't say anything!"

"W-Well, I wanted it to be a surprise." Yuka smiled, looking up at Teratani fondly. "And to make sure it was going to work out."

"I've gotta say, I'm really surprised." Ichitaka smiled, looking at his old friend in a new light. "I didn't think you'd ever come around. You've really matured."

"Glad you noticed." Teratani smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess we all have to grow up some time."

"It's such a shame though." Nami said, a look of pure mischief on her face. "And here I was just about ready to cave to your sex appeal at last Teratani. Guess we'll never have a tawdry fling after all."

Everyone laughed - except Teratani. Turning to face Nami, he waggled his eyebrows at her. "Well, nobody ever said that. There's always an affair."

Ichitaka face palmed as Yuka hit Teratani hard in the ribs, making him cry out again. "Matured huh?"

The laughter rang out once more, as the door to the school opened again. "Hope you guys haven't filled up on that juice yet, 'cause I've got a real treat for you." Higemi laughed, pushing the keg forward down the steps, Kida and Tanaka in tow.

"All right!" Teratani and Nami yelled out in unison, and while they and many other former students rushed forward, the rest of their friends followed behind slowly. It was looking to be a real party.

That was when the first gunshot rang through the air, splitting the peace and fun right down the middle.


	3. Chapter 3 Samejima's Vengeance

**Chapter 3. Samejima's Vengeance**

_BANG!_

Piercing through the sky and the jubilation both, the gunshot caught everyone off guard. Immediately, people screamed, diving under tables and behind trees.

"What's going on?"

"Who brought a gun!"

"Is anybody hurt!"

It was chaos, as Ichitaka, Teratani, and Jun dived behind a larger table, Jun pushing it over to shield them, while Yuka, Iori, and another old classmate Miyoko, hid behind an adjacent one that had already been flipped in the chaos. "What the hell is going on!" Ichitaka yelled, looking to Jun and Teratani. Together, they nodded, and decided to risk peeking around the table. Across from them, the girls did the same.

None of them were prepared for what they saw.

"Such a nice little party…" The man, older than the reunion students but much younger than Higemi, said, stepping forward. Clad in only a prison uniform, he looked just as haggard as he had when Ichitaka had last seen him, if not more so. "I'm so glad that I was right…that the girl I've been looking for did show up…_MY_ girl…"

Iori started to sob quietly, staring up into the man's eyes, though it didn't seem that he knew where she was just yet. Ichitaka's own emotions were conflicted, between intense rage and great fear.

Spreading his arms wide, the man held in his hand one pistol, his long blonde, unkempt hair trailing down his back. Insanity practically oozed from every pore of his body, and his eyes were as cold as ice.

"I've come back for you Iori…my little marionette…" said Hideo Samejima…the Marionette King. "Listen up, Iori…that first shot was fired into the air. It was meant to announce my return, not to harm anyone…especially not you…" Iori continued to shiver silently, tears streaming down her face, a completely broken down look on her face as Samejima walked around some. "But the longer you hide, the more…'itchy'…my trigger finger will get." He smiled, readying the pistol for another shot. "So if you don't get out here, someone will die…and if you defy me, YOU will die…"

"What do we do?" Ichitaka asked, looking to Teratani and Jun for ideas.

"H-How the hell am I supposed to know!" Teratani looked almost as frantic as Iori, minus the mental scarring of past events, never having faced anything like this before. "Surely the cops will be here shortly, right? There's no way nobody heard that gunshot. Let's just play it cool until they get here."

It was true enough, in that sirens could already be heard going off in the distance, but from the sound of them, it would take too long - the unthinkable could happen many times before any help arrived.

Behind another table nearer the front of the field, Higemi was hiding, looking around at various former students with as serious, but kind, look, as if trying to calm them all down non-verbally. He pulled his cell phone out from his jacket pocket, and started to dial a number, probably the police to urge them to get there faster.

_BANG!_

"Ahh!" Higemi screamed as a bullet strafed over the top of his hand, wounding him and knocking the cell phone out of his hand as well as his reach. Higemi's hand was bleeding, but the phone seemed to be unscathed.

"Hiromi!" Jun cried out Higemi's real first name silently, biting his lip to keep from screaming it at full lung capacity. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes, and a fury normally unseen in his character burned just underneath their surface.

"You old _fool!_" Samejima roared mercilessly, though he walked somewhat slowly over to Higemi. "You don't seem to listen well, maybe I should just kill you now." He sneered, turning to look around at the other tables again. "Unless Iori is ready to show herself…" He leveled the gun alongside Higemi's head to further his point.

Ichitaka had had enough. "Dammit…I'm not going to let him harm Iori again!" he said, starting to stand up to do something, but Teratani grabbed hold of him and kept him down.

"Are you crazy! He's got a gun!" Teratani said as fervently as he could in a hushed voice.

"I don't care! I can't just sit here doing nothing!" Ichitaka's eyes flicked over to Iori's hiding place, where she was still seemingly in a nightmare of a dream world all her own.

"Ichitaka, Teratani…listen…" Jun said calmly, but seriously, catching both their attention. The tears had smeared his face some, but they'd evaporated quickly…and it seemed their evaporation only fueled Jun's rage more, tempering it into a deadly weapon. "I have a plan." He explained it to them quickly, having no time to waste.

"Apparently Iori doesn't care about your life, old man." Samejima said, but removed his gun's aim from Higemi's head. "You will die…but not now. First things first…Iori!" He cried out, starting to walk forward once more, not far from where she and the others were hiding now. "You've pissed me off even more now! You will be mine either way…I will have my satisfaction, the Marionette King's sexual satisfaction!" Pure insanity seeped out of every note of Samejima's voice as his face broke into a twisted smile. "It doesn't even matter if you're dead before or after that either…because either way, once I'm done…you die…"

Iori seemed to have come out of her own mind, now openly weeping and covering her mouth with both hands, desperately trying to keep from crying out loud. Yuka's face was overflowing with tears as well as she rubbed Iori's back, whispering to her, trying to calm her down, while Miyoko looked at them both, and back to Samejima, shivering in fear.

"Now!" Jun said, and all three boys moved out, putting his quick but elaborate plan into motion. All three ran as fast as their legs could possibly take them towards Samejima, but Jun ran past him, as Ichitaka and Teratani both slammed hard into him. Letting out a loud grunt, Samejima toppled to the ground, his gun landing just beside himself, with Ichitaka and Teratani both struggling to restrain him.

Samejima fought hard, struggling to free himself from his would-be captors - and his eyes met with Ichitaka's. "…You!"

"Yeah. Me." Ichitaka's voice broke from both the effort and the rage as he continued to use all of his strength to hold Samejima down.

Meanwhile, Jun had grabbed Higemi's phone off the ground, and had returned it to Higemi. Higemi immediately started to dial it with his uninjured hand, then held it to his ear with his shoulder as that hand went back to holding tightly to his injured one.

"I will not be taken down by the likes of you _again!_" Samejima raged, flailing with all of his strength, and despite Ichitaka and Teratani's fervent efforts, it was working. While they had been busy living normal lives, Samejima had been locked deep in the prison system, where only the strongest survive. There was no way they could overpower him for long, even outnumbering him as they did.

Thrusting upward with all of his upper body strength, Samejima managed to push Teratani and Ichitaka off of himself, Teratani falling down below him, while Ichitaka landed awkwardly to his right.

"Shit!" Ichitaka tried to scramble up as fast as he could, but a piercing pain ran through his arm as he used it to get up, slowing his progress. Teratani tried to claw his way back onto Samejima, but Samejima roughly kicked towards him. The kick landed directly on the forefront of Teratani's face, smashing his glasses and nose hard, forcing him to fall back with a loud cry.

"Ichitaka!" Iori screamed, revealing her position, but Samejima had other concerns at the moment, ones that he placed even higher than her. Standing up quickly and grabbing his gun again, as Ichitaka struggled to stand up, and he pointed it point blank at Ichitaka's face.

"This…is the last time…you ever get in my way. Bastard!" Samejima seemed to foam at the mouth, as his finger curled around the trigger, with a mix of rage and manic glee dancing around in his eyes.

As Ichitaka's eyes widened, the world seemed to slow down around him, though it couldn't be any more than a few seconds passing. _I can't move…_ He thought to himself, staring right at the gun barrel inches from his face. It barely registered in his mind that Higemi was screaming into the phone for support, Jun was racing towards them, and Iori was screaming his name. _I can't move! Is this it…Am I going to die?_ Despite all the emotional hardship Ichitaka had faced in his young life, he'd never had to face his own mortality quite like this.

The last time he had fought Samejima, on the snow-clad rooftop, he had been running on pure inertia. He'd gone looking for that fight, and even when he was grievously injured on the head, he kept fighting to save the girl he loved. He was passed out before he could realize how close he was to death, so worrying about dying had never even occurred to him. This time was different. With a gun just inches from his face, held by someone very willing to kill him, and the finger slowly pulling the trigger back, it seemed that death was inevitable. It scared him more than he'd ever been scared before.

_If this is where I die…please, someone save Iori!_ Ichitaka began to resign himself to his fate, closing his eyes. _And just make this quick._

Once Ichitaka's eyes were almost closed, the world sped back up around him. "Idiot!" Teratani screamed, having flipped back over. Blood was streaming from his nose as it already started to swell up even larger than usual, but he ignored his own pain, grabbing Ichitaka's leg as fast and strongly as he could, and pulled.

_BANG!_

Pain pierced through Ichitaka's mind, but not near as much as he would have expected, nor was it in the place he'd expected it to be. His eyes fully open again, he grabbed onto his shoulder with a loud yell, the bullet having grazed the top of it. It wasn't fatal, but the bleeding was great.

Samejima roared again, his mouth open as he pointed down again - but that was as far as he got this time. Jun had gotten just behind him, and kicked him hard in the back of the legs, causing him to stumble. Another swift kick upward knocked the gun flying from Samejima's hand, the sun shining off of it's metal as it landed across the field. A third, final kick to Samejima's shoulder as he fell to the ground, knocked him flat on it.

"Ichitaka!" Iori screamed, running out from her hiding place with Yuka, to join Teratani who was trying to help Ichitaka move away while holding onto his shoulder.

"Teratani, I think your nose is broken." Yuka cried, trying to dab at it with a handkerchief from her jacket pocket, but Teratani pushed her hand away.

"I'm fine, there's no time for that! Help me get Ichitaka back behind a table." Teratani was standing up now, lifting Ichitaka up with him to help him walk. "Iori, get back behind a table! It's you he's after!"

"I'm not leaving Ichitaka's side!" She sobbed, helping Ichitaka steady himself from the other side.

"It's okay Teratani." Ichitaka said in a rough voice, looking forward at Jun and Samejima. "I think it's over…"

Samejima was trying to pick himself up unsuccessfully, Jun's attack seeming to have taken a lot out of him. Reaching down, Jun grabbed hold of the front of his shirt and pulled him roughly back to his feet, where Samejima seemed to have a hard time standing. "You never learn, do you." Jun stepped back briskly, and slammed his fist hard into Samejima's face, knocking him flat onto the ground again, rolling some over the grass before stopping near some bushes near the side of the field.

"Fuck…" Samejima cursed, spitting some blood out of his mouth as he struggled to stand. All around them, sirens sounded off, the police seemingly just outside the school walls now.

"It's over." Jun said, glaring defiantly down at the madman. "You've lost again."

Samejima's face was more sane now than it had been before, but his rage had not subsided. It was clear that he heard the sirens, but if he had any real reaction to them, it didn't show. "…This isn't over…" Samejima stood up as best as he could, reaching quickly into his pocket. From it, he pulled a large switchblade, flicking the steel out into the open. "Not until that bitch is mine!" He rushed towards Jun, the hand holding the knife reared back for a fatal slash. Jun's eyes widened as he started to sink into a defensive position, while Ichitaka and the others screamed.

Just as soon as it had started however, it was over. There was a quiet zipping sound that was likely unheard by all, as a long wire streamed from the bushes, a small device on the end of it slamming into the small of Samejima's back where it attached itself. A loud scream leapt from Samejima's lips, as a large voltage streamed through his body, dropping it to the ground, the knife falling out of his hand to stick into the grass.

Nobody knew what to do or say, just looking onward in shock at the fallen psychopath. It wasn't until a rustling came from the bushes that everyone looked over.

"It's okay everyone." A resolute voice came from the bushes, as a young man in a policeman's uniform stepped out from them. Ichitaka looked up at the man, who smiled as he stood up, and pressed a button on his stun gun to release it, the zipline retracting back inside of it and off of Samejima. "You're safe now."


	4. Chapter 4 Shinobu Kando

**Chapter 4. Shinobu Kando**

"Easy does it." A policeman said to two others that were helping lift the unconscious form of Samejima onto a roll-away bed, and snapping the restraints over him. Even for someone like himself, they had to be careful not to injure him more than he already was, lest they risk some kind of 'police brutality' lawsuit.

"This guy is as heavy as he is insane." Complained another cop, as they loaded the bed into the back of an ambulance, rolling it to the front. "They shouldn't have allowed him into the gym so often."

"Yeah well, you won't have to worry about that anymore." The first cop again, with a sardonic smile on his face. "After this little stunt, he won't be seeing the gym again. Or daylight."

Both cops laughing, they waved to the front of the ambulance that they were ready, and pulled the doors to the back shut. As it and some patrol cars followed it along, the young policeman that had taken down Samejima was interviewing a few students just a few feet from Ichitaka and the others, who were receiving medical attention of their own.

"Ow!" Teratani complained loudly as a nurse forcibly reset his nose, before applying some gauze to it. "This is why I don't like fighting, it hurts like hell!" Everyone laughed, even Yuka who was standing just beside Teratani with a bittersweet smile on her face.

"Violence is never the answer." Jun was leaning against a table, smiling and waving away another nurse who had just asked if he was hurt as well. "It's only when there's no other choice that it should be used."

"And we definitely didn't have any choice this time." Ichitaka said, staring at the ground. He was trying to calm his nerves after all that had happened, but a nurse applying some quick aid to his shoulder was making that hard to do. "Ow!" He recoiled in pain, clinging to Iori's hand as she stood beside him, trying her best to smile too.

"Quit complaining!" Teratani glared over at his old friend. "At least you're only hurt on a shoulder. A _shoulder_ man! My nose if freakin' busted!"

"Sorry." Ichitaka smiled weakly, catching Iori's eyes with his own. He wanted to cheer her up, even if it was at his best friend's expense. "Now your nose will be even bigger than it was already."

"Oh, you're SO funny!" Teratani fired back as everyone burst out laughing, even Iori. The nurses working on both boys smiled as well, before one of them patted Ichitaka's bandaged shoulder.

"That's about all I can do from here." She said kindly, stepping back. "You all should go to the hospital and get checked out again there as well, just in case. Do you want to ride with an ambulance?"

"It's okay, we can manage." Ichitaka smiled. "Thanks for the bandage."

Both nurses bowed, and started to walk away. As they did so, Teratani cocked his head, his eyebrows raised as his eyes locked directly onto the swaying butt of his retreating nurse. "I guess getting hurt does have _some_ advantages…heh heh…" He cackled some, never looking away from the butt. "Oh man, what I wouldn't give to have her nurse me back to health, maybe a nice sponge bath for sta - " He froze in place, looking over at Yuka who's face looked extremely annoyed…but then a smile came onto her face. On the surface, it looked warm, but just below that was an icy storm ready to strike.

"Want me to bust your nose again so she'll come back?" She offered in a sweet voice, almost casually.

"…Shutting up now." Teratani said, coughing and looking away. Everyone laughed again as they stood up to head for the hospital.

"Glad to see you're all in good spirits."

Their leaving was interrupted as the young cop who had stopped Samejima finished his business near them and walked over. The man looked to be not much older than Ichitaka and the others, maybe a few years their senior. He had wavy brown hair that looked like he took extremely good care of it, trimmed to where his bangs stopped just short of falling into his eyes. It was likely as long as an officer was allowed to keep it. He was tall, thought not lanky, and he wore his badge on his left pectoral, which appeared to be rather toned, just like his arms. "Sorry, I know you've all been through a lot, but can we talk? Just a few more things to take care of first."

"Uh, sure." Ichitaka said, looking at the cop and trying not to appear to be looking him over. There was something…familiar…about him. He just couldn't tell what it was.

"Just some things I though you all deserved to know." The man smiled, sitting down on the table beside them. "I want to take full responsibility for what happened here tonight. It's my fault…" He looked at the ground, appearing somewhat crestfallen. "I'm kind of a rookie, but they assigned me to watch over him, the head guard if you will. I don't know how he escaped, that part is still unclear. I can't help but feel there's more I could have done to prevent this."

Ichitaka opened his mouth to say something confirming that the cop should have done more, but suddenly Iori spoke up for the first time since everything had gone crazy. "I-It's all right…I'm sure you did your best." Ichitaka looked at her, surprised to hear her dismiss it so quickly. "Thank you, officer…um…"

"Shinobu. Shinobu Kando." The cop bowed a little towards Iori, smiling kindly. "And thank you. It is true that we've been having problems with him for years now. Ever since the incident outside Isai Productions." Shinobu looked to Jun now. "I guess it's a good thing you were there to stop him that time too, Ichitaka."

"You have me mistaken." Jun said, pointing to the real Ichitaka. "I wasn't there that time. And my name is Jun, this is Ichitaka."

"Oh?" Shinobu's eyes flicked up to Ichitaka's then, and whatever he was thinking, Ichitaka couldn't read it. "I apologize again, my mistake. I just assumed…well, never mind."

_What did you assume?_ Ichitaka wanted to ask, but he bit his tongue.

"Anyway, you won't have to worry about Samejima breaking out again. Shinobu said, standing up now. "That probably sounds like faint dialogue given what you all just went through, but after this little escapade, I'm certain we're throwing him into the insanity ward and throwing away the key."

"You probably should have done that the first time." Teratani said, but smiled after the words left his mouth. "But what's done is done."

"Right." Shinobu then walked over to Iori. He took hold of her hands suddenly, clasping them between his own. Ichitaka's mouth dropped open a little, but before he could say anything, Shinobu spoke again. "I apologize again for the trauma you've been through. Nobody deserves to have this kind of thing happen once in their life, much less twice as you have now."

"It's okay, really." Iori smiled, apparently not minding him holding her hands. "Thank you for stopping him, Officer Shinobu."

"Please, just Shinobu." The cop smiled, flashing his teeth as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen. Scribbling onto it quickly, he tore off a page and handed it to Iori. "This is my number, I want you to call me if there's anything else you think we should know about this incident."

_Shouldn't he be giving all of us that number?_ Ichitaka said to himself mentally once more. That nagging feeling that he recognized Shinobu from somewhere persisted in the back of his mind. It had to be a coincidence though, he'd never known anyone by that name.

"I'd better get back to the station to file this report then." Shinobu said, smiling and bowing to everyone before turning to leave. "Take care everyone." He started to walk away, then stopped, looking back over his shoulder. "If you don't mind my saying miss Iori." He spoke directly to her now. "It's easy to see why Samejima would be so obsessed with you. You're quite beautiful." He winked, then turned back around to walk to his patrol car.

Ichitaka quietly fumed, quite annoyed that the cop had just hit on his girlfriend, right in front of him no less! "Kind of overstepping his boundaries, isn't he?" He scowled even more when he saw that Iori was faintly blushing as she pocketed his number.

"He's a smooth operator, that's for sure." Teratani smirked, no doubt taking some comfort in the normalcy of Ichitaka's jealousy.

"I'm sure he's just trying to be nice." Iori said, a weak smile still on her face. She wrapped her arms around Ichitaka's, looking up at him. "Let's get to the hospital."

"I can drive." Offered Jun, walking along with them as they waved goodbye to the few students still around.

"All right, to the hospital!" Teratani yelled out, pumping a fist into the air. "Sexy nurses, here I come."

"Need that nose-breaking punch now?" Yuka offered again, the sweetness in her voice clearly strained.

"…Shutting up again."


End file.
